Chase Sexton has been the hottest rider in the Monster Energy Supercross 450 class during the past month and a half as he dethroned Eli Tomac from the top of the Power Rankings after Round 15. This ends an 11-round streak for Tomac that began after San Diego in Week 3.
Beginning with a second-place finish in his heat and a fourth in the main on his home state track in Indianapolis, Indiana, Sexton has a perfect streak of top-fives in both heats and features. He missed the races in Seattle, Washington after suffering a practice crash, but since then he has stood on the overall podium in three races and earned two heat wins and a Triple Crown feature. In a season of ‘what might have been,” Sexton’s surge at the end of the season looms large.
As Tomac closes in on the 2022 championship, he rode a safe race last week at Foxborough, Massachusetts and that cost him the top spot. Finishing seventh in the main is the first time in the past 45 days that he failed to finish in the top five, but he can wrap up the championship in his home state of Colorado with a solid finish of sixth or better.
MORE: Justin Anderson denies Eli Tomac his crown for one more week
To keep his championship hopes alive, Jason Anderson has earned back-to-back wins in the past two weeks. He surged three positions up the chart to tie Tomac for second in the Power Rankings. In the past 45 days, he has two sixth-place finishes, but that is offset by three heat wins and his recent trophies.
Marvin Musquin continues to be impressive with top-fives in every recent appearance except his 10th in the feature at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Four of his last five features ended on the podium, including his first 2022 win at St. Louis three weeks ago.
Rounding out the top five is Justin Barcia, who slipped from third. He also has a near-perfect record of top-five finishes in the past 45 days with only a sixth-place finish in the Atlanta feature holding him back.
450 Rankings
1. Chase Sexton (last week: 4); [1 feature win, 8 heat wins]
2. Eli Tomac (1); [7 feature wins, 6 heat wins]
2. Jason Anderson (5); [5 feature wins; 7 heat wins]
4. Marvin Musquin (2); [1 feature win, 2 heat wins]
5. Justin Barcia (3); [3 heat wins]
6. Cooper Webb (8); [3 heat wins]
7. Malcolm Stewart (6); [3 heat wins]
8. Justin Brayton (7)
9. Vince Friese (9)
10. Kyle Chisholm (10)
11. Brandon Hartranft (11)
12. Justin Bogle (12)
13. Dean Wilson (13)
14. Justin Starling (14)
15. Ryan Breece (15)
16. Cade Clason (16)
17. Henry Miller (NA)
18. Benny Bloss (18)
19. Alex Martin (20)
20. John Short (17)
Triple Crown wins included with Heat wins
It’s been quite the season for the 18 year old 250SX East Champ 😎 🏆 #SupercrossLIVE @jettson18_ pic.twitter.com/5RdPIW7myC
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 26, 2022
With one standalone round and a combined shootout to go in the 2022 season for the 250 West riders, Christian Craig holds onto the top spot overall, but in a tight battle, Jett Lawrence could overtake him in the finale at Salt Lake City.
Lawrence has already snagged the red plate for 2023 with his second-place finish in both the Foxborough feature and heat. Last week, all he needed to do in order to secure the title was finish among the leaders, but he outperformed those expectations by a wide margin.
Kyle Chisholm advanced to second among the East riders and was fifth overall with a heat win and fifth-place finish in the feature. Chisholm has failed to crack the top five only twice this season in the 250 class with a 12th in the Detroit main as his low water mark.
Austin Forkner returned from injury two weeks ago and won his second heat of the season. He completed the comeback in Foxborough with a feature win ahead of champion Lawrence - adding another “what might have been” to 2022’s list.
Fourth in the East standings and 10th overall, Mitchell Oldenburg has been the model of consistency with results of sixth or better in 16 of his last 18 races this season.
Pierce Brown earned his third heat victory last week in Foxborough and rounds out the top five among the 250 East riders. He backed that up with his second overall podium of 2022.
250 Rankings
1. Christian Craig - W (1); [4 feature wins, 9 heat wins]
2. Jett Lawrence - E (2); [4 feature wins, 5 heat wins]
3. Hunter Lawrence - W (4); [3 feature wins, 2 heat wins]
4. Michael Mosiman - W (3); [1 feature win, 3 heat wins]
5. Kyle Chisholm - E (6); [1 heat win]
6. Jo Shimoda - W (8)
7. Austin Forkner - E (9); [1 feature win, 2 heat wins]
8. RJ Hampshire - W (5); [1 feature win, 3 heat wins]
9. Vince Friese - W (7); [1 heat win]
10. Mitchell Oldenburg - E (11)
11. Nate Thrasher - W (12)
12. Pierce Brown - E (14); [3 heat wins]
13. Garrett Marchbanks - W (10)
14. Jalek Swoll - W (18)
15. Jace Owen - E (15)
16. Jordon Smith - E (15)
17. Enzo Lopes - E (18)
18. Phil Nicoletti - E (17)
19. Carson Brown - W (23)
20. Chris Blose - W (13)
Triple Crown wins included with Heat wins
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 1 AT ANAHEIM: Ken Roczen, Christian Craig have a perfect weekend
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 2 AT OAKLAND: Justin Barcia climbs to the top spot
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 3 AT SAN DIEGO: Consistency pays off for Eli Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 4 AT ANAHEIM: Tomac remains on top as competition levels
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 5 AT GLENDALE: Malcolm Stewart move up as Tomac stays No. 1
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 6 AT ANAHEIM: Jason Anderson closes the gap
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 7 AT MINNEAPOLIS: Jett Lawrence steps up to challenge Craig in 250s
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 8 AT ARLINGTON: Consistency once more give Tomac a Triple Crown win
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 9 AT DAYTONA: Tomac rides historic wave into the second half of 2022
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 10 AT DETROIT: Tomac holds position as Lawrence moves up
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 11 AT INDIANAPOLIS: Barcia surges to second
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 12 AT SEATTLE: Stewart’s turn at second
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 13 AT ST LOUIS: Marvin Musquin’s win elevates rider
POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 14 AT ATLANTA: East/West Shootout shakes up 250s
